We report on the experimental observation of induced solitons in a passively mode-locked fiber ring laser with a birefringence cavity. Owing to the cross coupling between the two orthogonal polarization components of the laser, it was found that if a soliton was formed along one cavity polarization axis, a weak soliton was also induced along the orthogonal polarization axis, and depending on th...

The optical properties of a caesium atomic beam driven on a resonant hyperfine transition in the D(2) line were studied as a function of the probe laser frequency. Using a third off-resonant laser system, a heterodyne interferometer allowed simultaneous absorption and phase shift measurements of either the probe or the coupling laser. The signal features of the probe and coupling laser transmit...

In this Letter the effects of the twist of fiber laser cavities on the polarization properties of the laser output are investigated experimentally and theoretically. The directions and frequencies of two laser eigenpolarization modes are found to evolve in a much more complicated way as a function of the twist rate, compared with the well-known case of polarization evolution in a twisted passiv...

An axial magnetic field induces circular birefringence in optical fibers, resulting in the rotation of the polarization angle for a linearly polarized input (Faraday effect). The rotation angle is linearly proportional to the magnitude of the applied field. Accurate measurements of the polarization angle variation provide a means for monitoring the magnetic field. The Faraday effect in optical ...

Transient birefringence can be induced in a gas of anisotropic molecules by an intense polarized laser pulse. We propose to use this birefringence to phase match nonlinear optical frequency-conversion processes. The conditions for anisotropic phase matching are derived, and experimental conditions required for phase-matched third-harmonic generation in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber are present...

High birefringence (Dn 0.4) liquid crystals (LCs) are desirable for cholesteric displays, laser beam steering and optical switches for telecommunications [1]. A major concern for the high birefringence LCs is their ultraviolet (UV) stability. As the conjugation length increases, the LC absorption tail shifts toward k 1⁄4 365 nm, the major UV light used for curing sealant. The material degradati...

Optical components exploiting Pancharatnam-Berry phase are implemented by harnessing laser induced stress birefringence. Beam converters for obtaining beams with orbital angular momentum are demonstrated in glass and crystalline materials using this technique.

The paper presents an experimental study of transformation of a laser beam formed by an aperiodic diffractive axicon (fracxicon) in a lithium niobate x-cut. The beam is shown to undergo astigmatic rhomboidal transformation induced by the crystal birefringence. The output beam intensity distribution is measured at various distances from the crystal. The effects analyzed make it possible to exten...

A decade ago, a new type of self-organization process was observed in the bulk of SiO2 glass after irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses [1]. Under certain irradiation conditions, highly ordered nanostructures with features smaller than 20 nm could be formed in the irradiated volume. The sub-wavelength arrangement of these structures results in form birefringence, which was recently exploite...